I haven't brought a paper bible to church in a long time. I always use the iPad or iPhone, and am easily able to keep up with any scripture references, plus checking the original languages or commentaries. If I'm in a proper bible study, I often want a laptop instead for the better functionality, but I've found that the simplicity of the iOS device in the church service is great.

Not long after the iOS version came out, I stopped bringing a paper Bible anywhere at all. I normally use the iPad if I'm leading any part of the service/discussion on weekdays or Sundays. Otherwise I use my iPhone instead.

It's a huge convenience for me to have my notes right there alongside the texts we're studying. I've been told a few times that the use of images (from Accordance resources) displayed on the iPad have been really helpful for folks as part of the discussion/service.

I remember at first, though, I got teased a lot about bringing electronics to our studies and services. Now they're encouraging me to use my iPad.

Since we got our first iPads in 2011, neither of us has taken a Bible to church or prayer meeting. I occasionally use Accordance on my iPhone, but, like Jonathan, I find the small screen limits its usefulness. I have only a few of my Accordance resources on it.

We teach high school/college Sunday school, and often we both take our MacBook Pros.

I bring my iPod Touch sometimes to church on Sundays. I find it good to do a search for the main passage that the pastor is using for the sermon and I can use the verse chooser to look up other verses that might be mentioned and allow me to quickly go back.

I am enjoying hearing your replies. I own an iPhone only so that is my usage context. I always have my phone and so I always have the Bible to read from.
The ability to adjust the point size of the text without needing a huge bible is a great benefit to me as well as being able to quickly check cross references.

Screen space is super important and I would always want more bible text on it for context sake.

Note taking during a sermon is important for me. Coming back at a later time and thinking through the text a bit more, but I find that very difficult/clunky with the current set up. Just too many steps to get from the text to the note, type in a thought and then get back into the text during a sermon without getting behind.

I have been doing this for about three years on the iPhone, but have been unable to do it effectively in my favorite Accordance app.

Although I do considerable typing on my iPad (just directly on the glass) during the week, I tend not to do as much on Sunday. For this reason, I think an iPad mini might be a better option for church use both for myself and a lot of people. And it might be a better option than an iPhone (which I realize was part of the original question of this thread).

However, if I were to get an iPad mini, I think I'd rather wait a year or so and get one with a retina display. That may be just the device to get once it's available.

i do love Accordance and use my MacBook Air in my Sunday School class to play videos and show Accordance on a monitor but . . . Call me old-fashioned . . . I still love taking my print Bible(s) and paper notebook to church. There is something special about reading God's Word from a quality Bible. Writing the notes helps me to concentrate on the sermon. I am afraid if I used a computer or iOS device there would be a temptation to get distracted. I know that sounds like blasphemy but I work at a library so I have to like books!

I've become distracted in church all my life. The best thing about getting distracted now is Accordance. The split screen allows me to keep the biblical text on the left, but the right side of the screen often ends up wherever my distraction leads. But I feel no guilt over that.

Interests:The Bible, NT Greek, Church History, music, rugby, family - and a whole lot more

Accordance Version:11.x

Platforms:Mac OS X, iOS

Posted 08 November 2012 - 02:07 AM

Alex, I agree that the mini would be great for congrational use, but not to preach from. I think the mini, with it's smaller size would be really convenient for easy note taking, without bumping elbows to thos next to you. Just waiting for someone to offer me one

I use my iPad solely on Sunday mornings to follow along and take notes, and have used it to preach and teach from. I love it because I used to carry either my Greek or Hebrew reader but always felt too geeky when people noticed. I also use a Twelve South BookBook, which people sometimes confuse as a book or portfolio so it cuts down on the attention factor.

Because of the difficulty with the sermon note taking process in Accordance on the iPhone, I have been using another simple Bible program that does this very well. It allows me to easily (with one tap) switch to notes to write and then, with one tap, get right back into the text. The notes I take are also grouped by sermon series and do not have to be tied to one particular verse. I love the ease and efficiency, but always find myself conflicted that I can't do that in the program I use, enjoy and have invested in for everything else, Accordance!

Like Ryan G. I use Accordance for my Bible at church and anywhere else I go and Evernote for note taking (free, and just updated) on my iPhone 4S.

The copy function (especially now that you can copy multiple verses) helps with pasting the main verse or two into Evernote. The highlights allow me to mark verses for further study as well as for verses I need to meditate on or memorize. the ability to access all of my study bibles and commentaries have helped me to dig in a little deeper quickly when the preacher says something that shocks me or Is questionable right out of the gate. I also like the ability to compare translations.

My wife does have a 1st generation iPad, and the one of the kids will sometimes use that during service. I find it easier to take notes & read from my iPhone as I can do it with one hand, allowing me to have the other arm around my wife .

Interests:Contemplative prayer, ecological stewardship, science-fiction, and cat herding are some of my interests.

Accordance Version:12.x

Platforms:Mac OS X, iOS

Posted 08 November 2012 - 08:59 PM

I am going to be honest, I use primarily my Olivetree reader, but that might be because i have used it for so many years and am more comfortable with it… I haven't used a paper Bible on a Sunday since 2002 (even before that my little NIV franklin was used quite a bit). Accordance is a good app, but it;s lack of integrated footnotes on the NRSV means it likely would never be my Sunday morning APP. That being said it is a very useful APP and i use it a whole lot.

I am going to be honest, I use primarily my Olivetree reader, but that might be because i have used it for so many years and am more comfortable with it… I haven't used a paper Bible on a Sunday since 2002 (even before that my little NIV franklin was used quite a bit). Accordance is a good app, but it;s lack of integrated footnotes on the NRSV means it likely would never be my Sunday morning APP. That being said it is a very useful APP and i use it a whole lot.

-Dan

So to be clear, this has nothing to do with the app per se, but the NRSV text that we have, right?